Hudson River Tour; New York City to Albany (July 18-July 23)

The Hudson River was first discovered and explored by Henry Hudson in 1609.  He was an English navigator employed by the Dutch to find a northwest passage to the Orient.  With a crew of 20 in his ship, the Half Moon, he traveled as far north as present day Albany over a 2 week period and marveled at the lushness of the landscape.  His discovery led to the future colonization of the area by the Dutch.  

Technically, the Hudson is not a river.  It is a fjord as it is tidal all the way to Albany.  Albany itself, 150 miles upstream from NYC, is subject to 5’ tides and the currents this imposes.  A dam and canal in Troy stops the tidal influence.

Once again we passed through New York Harbor for a sight you can never get tired of seeing.

New York Skyline with Lady Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

As we passed under the Tappan Zee Bridge we were treated to a remarkable construction effort.  Two new bridges are underway with numerous cranes and barges and one purpose built crane for lifting major bridge girders in place.  The site brought out the engineer in Jim.  Unfortunately, the very next day one of the cranes collapsed across the active bridge causing traffic chaos, but few injuries.

New Tappan Zee Bridge Under Construction

Using the small town of Croton-on Hudson as a base we took the train south to NYC where we met our friends Dorothy and Al Oliver once again.  Starting with a very late lunch at Langans we walked on to Sardi’s for happy hour.  Dorothy and Debby are two peas in a pod, so shortly we were talking with the grandson of the original owner of the place.  Sardi’s has been famous among the theater set for many years and has over 2000 caricatures of well known thespians hanging on its walls.  Not sure if it was the result of too much Happy Hour, but Jim’s pictures of the place did not come out.

Traveling along the Hudson on a sunny day you are treated to a panorama of cliffs, mountains in the background and stately homes on the hill tops.  Along the way you can trace the early history of the countries development both politically and commercially.  West Point is particularly imposing giving the impression of being much larger than the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

West Point Military Academy

We spent 2 nights in Kingston, NY which is a little over half way up the river.  In the 1800s this was a booming transportation hub.  It was the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson canal which was built to transport coal from Pennsylvania to New York City.  In addition to coal, cement and bricks were made here and fed the building boom in NYC throughout the 19^th century.

Typical Hudson River Lighthouse

Hudson Athens Lighthouse 1873

We spent one uneventful night in Albany at the Albany Yacht Club prior to entering the Erie Canal.

On to NYC: St. Michaels, MD.; Annapolis, MD.; Delaware City, DE; Cape May, NJ( July 6-July 17)

After doing some major provisioning we departed Colonial Beach on July 6 moving on to St. Michaels, MD with an intermediate over night anchorage in Solomons.  St. Michaels on the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake is a very picturesque colonial town.  Once a waterman’s haven it now thrives on tourism with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum being a major draw.  Founded in 1778, the town avoided destruction by the British during the War of 1812 by hanging lanterns high in trees so that the night bombardment missed its mark.

We anchored in the basin for 3 days and enjoyed walking the village and visiting the museum which traces the history of the waterman trade in the Chesapeake.  They restore old ships on site and have interesting displays of how the bounty of the Bay was harvested over the years.  Of particular interest was the construction technique of boats fashioned from logs.

Log Sailing Canoe
beside a
Skipjack Oyster Boat

"Buy" Boat
with
"Screw Pile" Lighthouse in background

A "Buy" boat would circulate among the fishermen in the Bay to collect their catch then take it to market thus allowing the fishermen to stay on station for longer periods of time.

From St. Michaels we moved on to Annapolis.  Having stopped there twice last year we were familiar with the town, but wanted to see what progress had been made in rebuilding the yacht club which suffered a major fire last Christmas.  Unfortunately, no progress has been made.  New building codes have made for a major debate about repair vs. new construction.  It looks like renovation will not start until next fall.  In the meantime the club was fortunate to be able to find a temporary location on the waterfront on Ego Alley.  A former restaurant complex on 3 levels, it is well suited for the club.  They provide a shuttle from the parking lot of the burned out club house which was very convenient to our marina.

Burned out shell of AYC

AYC electric car shuttle

After two nights in Annapolis we moved on to Georgetown, MD which is located 8 miles up the beautiful Sassafras River.  Although there is little to see in the tiny town the Sassafras Harbor Marina was pleasant and very well run.  The scenery alone was worth the diversion.

From there we pressed on to Deltaville, DE; Cape May, NJ; and Staten island, NY.  The weather has been extremely HOT, but thankfully the seas were calm for the 125nm run up the coast of NJ.

 On Sunday the 17^th we had the opportunity to renew acquaintances with members of the Great Kills Yacht Club.

In Memoriam, Patricia Lee (McMillen) Ackrell 1937-2016

Many of you who follow this blog had the pleasure of meeting Jim’s sister Pat. You know she was the kindest of souls, one whose departure will cause a hole in many people’s lives.  This was evident by the constant stream of classmates and teammates of her sons, friends, relatives, and co-workers that came to her house to bid farewell in her final weeks.  Her courage during this period was evident as she often said she was enjoying her wake.  Jim has always said she was his “Guiding Light” as he tried to follow in her foot steps in early adulthood.  She will be greatly missed.

The following is her obituary.

Patricia Lee (McMillen) Ackrell, born November 2, 1937, passed away on June 27, 2016 surrounded by family at her home in San Rafael, CA.  Born and raised on a farm near Pittsburgh, PA, Pat realized her deep passion for travel by first joining BOAC (now British Airways) and then working in the travel and group tour industry locally.  Prior to settling in California, the family lived in Honolulu, Hawaii and Leicester, England.  She lived in Marin County in the same home, which she loved, for the past 43 years.

By the time she was 25 years old, she had already traveled throughout Europe and had visited Morocco, India, and Japan.  She traveled extensively for work, but also made numerous trips with her family visiting too many places to count, but including China, Peru, Sweden, and the Galapagos.  She spent her last Christmas with family in London-three great weeks in her favorite city abroad.

Pat had a great spirit of adventure and would try everything once-whether herding reindeer and eating whale blubber in Alaska, helping deliver mail above theatric Circle, walking the Great Wall of China, cruising on the Nile, taking the Concorde, motorbiking in Marrakesh, skiing the Alps or sledding and kayaking in Lake Tahoe-not too bad for a farm girl.

Pat is survived by Brian, her loving husband of 52 years, her two devoted sons and daughters-in-law

Mark and Tarja of Austin, TX, and Mike and Wendy of San Francisco, CA, along with cherished granddaughter Bellamy, and brother Jim and sister-in-law Debby of Stuart, FL.  She loved being Tutu (Grandma), and was Mom to many.  She was a wonderful, devoted daughter and sister.

She was a passionate fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins.  She would read the sports section before work to have something new to talk about with her boys at dinner.

Pat was always laughing and such a supportive listener.  She had a gift for happiness and appreciation for life’s small pleasures.  Universally loved and the most selfless, calm and gentle of women, she will be sorely missed by relatives and friends around the globe.

With respect, and in lieu of flowers, the family requests any donations be made to pat’s favorite charity Mainstay Life Services, c/o Development Dept., 200 Roessler Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.  Please note “In Memory of Patricia Ackrell” on any donations.  The family is planning to hold a celebration of life later this year.

Washington, D.C.; Colonial Beach, VA 6/1 to 6/12

We enjoyed 5 days of touring our nation’s capital.  High on our list of things to do was a White House Tour, but we were disappointed to learn that arrangements must be made months ahead through your congressman or senator and then only after a background check.  So, we did some other tours which included the Capital building, Florida House, National Building Museum, National Gallery, and Madame Toussauds.

Florida House is unique in the capital.  It was started in the ‘70s with private funding and was intended to be a “state embassy” in Washington.  Housed in an elegant old townhouse just behind the capital building it is a welcome respite for all Florida residents visiting the city.  The concept of a state embassy never took off, so it remains the only one of its kind.

Jim at Florida House

Debby is a fan of doll houses, so when we learned there was an exhibition going on at the National Building Museum we paid a visit.  Those on display were from England in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  Doll houses in that era were for well-to do adults, not children, and were quite elaborate.

The National Gallery was the highlight of our touring.  Although only there for a few hours, we could have spent days there.  It is a spot not to be missed in the city.  Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum in D.C. displays the likeness of every US President along with brief bios that proved very interesting and informative.

Our last night in the city we had dinner with friends, Steve and Georgia  Fortune in Georgetown.  As always we had a good visit with them.

On June 6 we started our return down the Potomac; once again passing Mount Vernon.  This stretch is particularly picturesque with stately mansions on the Virginia side and heavy forest on the Maryland side.  Just south of the Harry Nice Bridge is a navy firing range that when “hot”, which is frequent, causes a circuitous routing.  We had to go 10 miles out of our way to reach Colonial Beach, VA while listening to loud artillery fire.  A small price to pay for keeping our military in good shape.

Mt Vernon
George had a Great View

Colonial Beach, VA is the epitome of “small town America”.  With a population under 4,000 we were treated to a Fireman’s Parade of over 100 emergency vehicles from all over northern VA and southern MD. along with a Miss Colonial Beach Pageant.   We had a ring side seat at the outdoor porch of Denson’s Market and Oyster Bar.  Our marina was a diamond in the rough working marina specializing in wooden boat restoration.  The owner who collects antique boats and antique cars was a real treat, full of southern hospitality.  We could not have found a better place to leave the boat as we traveled to San Rafael, CA for my sister’s living wake.

Mother Swan
Colonial Beach, VA

Oriental, River Dunes, Belhaven, Alligator River, Coinjock, N.C.; Portsmouth, Deltaville, VA; St Marys, Cobb Island, MD. (May 18-31)

After a short (20mile) run we stopped in Oriental.  We first visited this unique town in 2009 and made instant friends at the Tiki Bar in the small marina.  Ever since it is like walking into Cheers.  It is always like old home week with the same people in the same seats.  The dock hand here is Capt Easy.  Our friends that have spent much time in the Abacos may know him from Guana Cay where he worked at both Grabbers and Nippers for many years.  We enjoyed reminiscing about our times there.

Debby with Capt Easy

One of our friends at the Tiki Bar is head of the Pamlico County Music Society  and she told us of an outdoor concert to be held at River Dunes about 10 miles further down the Neuse River.  So the next day we moved to the wonderful new marina there.  Unfortunately, the weather was not real cooperative.  We had to watch an outdoor concert in intermittent rain!  The band called Adrian Duke Project was worth it.  They had a great black female jazz vocalist and Adrian did good Ray Charles numbers. 

Adrian Duke Project Band

Rain reduced the crowd

River Dunes is an upscale development in the middle of nowhere.  All the public facilities are first class and the few homes that have been built are massive.  We are not sure that many wealthy people will want to settle in such an out of the way place however.

Belhaven was the next stop.  We like the marina there with free wifi, free golf cart, and free laundry!  Normally you would not expect to find a famous restaurant in a 1 red light town.  Spooner’s where we had Sunday Brunch is truly amazing for its location.

Eclectic Decor at Spooners

Sunday Brunch at Spooners

From Belhaven it is a 2 day trip to Coinjock with not much of interest in between.  We did, however, see a deer swim across the canal between the Pungo  and Alligator rivers.  Coinjock is another “middle of no where” spot, but it is a popular natural overnight stop on the ICW.  The marina restaurant has a well deserved reputation for roast beef.

As we have plowed this field before we moved on to Portsmouth and then Deltaville, VA, intent on getting to new cruising territory on the Potomac River.  Our first stop was St. Mary’s City on the St. Marys River, about 8 miles up the Potomac.  St Mary’s was established in 1636 by colonists for Lord Baltimore.  It was the capital of Maryland until 1696.  It has a beautifully calm anchorage and provides a great walking tour of what remains of the old village.  It is home to the replica sailing vessel, Dove, representative of commercial ships of the time.

Dove Under Sail

Dove doing a tack

As it rained all day Memorial Day we decided to spend one more day at anchor in St Marys before pushing off to Cobb island as an intermediate stop on the way to Washington DC.  Cobb Island is very small with not much to offer the visiting yachtsman other than two crab houses.  On June 1st we pushed off for the final leg to DC.  Perfect weather made for an enjoyable cruise up the scenic Potomac.  Mt Vernon is a site to see along the way, and the homes nearby are on a grand scale.

George Washington's Mt Vernon

New Bern, NC (Nov1,2015-May18, 2016)

On the road (water) again!  Six and one half months without moving the boat- a record for us.  New Bern has proven to be an excellent place to winter the boat.  The dockage is secure and inexpensive and the town is particularly enjoyable.  New Bern was first settled in 1710 by a group from Bern, Switzerland.  Located at the juncture of the Neuse and Trent rivers it grew rapidly and became the first capital of North Carolina.  The Old Town section is contained in a 5 square block area with many well preserved homes having their origin in the 18^th and 19^th century.  For a small town (30,000 people ) it has quite a few great restaurants all within an easy walk from our marina.

We spent the first 3 weeks of November getting settled then rented a car and drove to Florida.  We spent Thanksgiving with Debby’s family in Ponte Vedra Beach then went on to south Florida where we enjoyed the Vintage Weekend at Ocean Reef in Key Largo on our friend’s boat and participated in several Lauderdale Yacht Club parties before returning to Ponte Vedra for Christmas.

We returned to New Bern in time for New Year’s spending the rest of January in North Carolina, including a ski weekend at Sugar Mountain.  It just happened to be during the Blizzard of ’16.  What was supposed to be a 3 day trip turned to 5 as we were literally snowed in.

Jim at top of Sugar Mtn, NC

Snowed In

February we returned to Stuart, FL to take care of annual physicals, etc .   March was a month for travel as we ventured to Phoenix for the ISTAT Conference and on to San Francisco to visit Jim’s sister and family.  At the end of the month we worked our way back to New Bern, stopping in Ponte Vedra to visit Debby’s family.  The month of April was consumed by preparing the boat for the next 6 months of travel and enjoying New Bern and its surroundings.

Jim, Sister Pat, Debby
San Rafael, CA

Portsmouth, VA; Elizabeth City, Belhaven, New Bern, NC (Oct 26-Nov 1)

Portsmouth proved to be a better stop than we anticipated.  Although it rained much of the time there we found several interesting things to do.  The ferry to Norfolk was close by and for $.75 for seniors cheap enough.  Debby got to spend some quality time in a very large multistory mall in downtown Norfolk.  The old town section of Portsmouth has some well preserved colonial homes, but the business district has too many empty store fronts.  One major exception is the Commodore Theater.  This 1945 theater has been restored to its original elegant state and converted to a dinner theater showing first run films.  The meals are light and inexpensive and include wine and beer.  We saw Tom Hank’s newest movie “Bridge of Spies” which we can recommend. 

The shipyards in Norfolk/Portsmouth area are very extensive and impressive.  There were at least 4 aircraft carriers being worked on and numerous other large ships as well.  It is hard to imagine any other country having such capability.

The weather finally cleared enough to travel on Thursday the 29^th.  Portsmouth is Mile “0” on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  There are two choices leaving Portsmouth; the Albemarle-Chesapeake Canal or the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Since we came north through the former we decided to take the slower, but more picturesque Dismal Swamp route.  The idea of a canal here connecting the Chesapeake with Albemarle Sound was first proposed in 1728.  Both George Washington and Patrick Henry favored this route and Washington purchased 50,000 acres in the swamp.  Construction started in 1796 and was completed in 1805.  It is the oldest operating artificial waterway in the US.  There are two locks that raise and lower boats 8’ at either end.  As speeds are restricted it is a pleasant and scenic trip through farm land and wooded areas bright with fall foliage.

Debby Manning the Lines
Deer Creek Lock
Great Dismal Swamp

Dismal Swamp

Dismal Swamp

The southern terminus of the canal trip is Elizabeth City which is very welcoming to boaters.  They offer free dock space and wine and cheese upon arrival.  We missed the wine and cheese party but found a friendly Tiki Bar to make up for the loss.

Tiki Bar Elizabeth City, NC

The next day was a perfect weather window to cross Albemarle Sound and move on to Belhaven, a distance of 83 miles.  It was our intent to go from there to Oriental for Halloween, but the town was completely booked for a major sailing event, so we stayed another day in Belhaven.  The marina provides golf carts for transport, so we got to see all the town has to offer which isn’t much.  In the ”small world” department a boat pulled in front of us at the marina.  It was a beautiful  80’ wooden hulled Trumpy captained by an acquaintance of ours for many years.  Captain Barry is well known as one of the best varnish people and caretaker of Trumpys in the business and has worked on many boats at Lauderdale Yacht Club.  The picture shows why you need a good varnish man.  He has been captain of the Annabelle for 10 years and moves it from Fort Lauderdale to Maine and back each year.

Captain Barry's 80' Trumpy
Annabelle

Sunday, Nov. 1 was our last travel day a 64 mile run to New Bern, our new winter home.  It was overcast, but calm seas made for a pleasant ride down the Pongo River, crossing Pamlico Sound and up the Neuse River. 

New Bern is at the head waters of the Neuse River where it intersects with the Trent River.  It was founded in 1710 by German and Swiss colonists who named it after the Swiss town of Bern.  It served for a period as the first capitol of North Carolina.  It has a charming historic downtown, a large protected marina behind a  Doubletree Hotel located right next to downtown and is far enough south that we do not have to winterize the boat.  We will spend the month of November here up until Thanksgiving when we will head south by car to spend December in Florida.  After that we will probably share time between Stuart and New Bern until we head north again in May to see the Hudson River and the Erie Canal.

It has been 6 months to the day since we left Ft. Lauderdale.  We have traveled 3,600 miles in 72 travel days and consumed 2700 gal of fuel.  After a few maintenance issues in the early days of the trip the boat has performed remarkably.  With just a few exceptions we have been particularly blessed with excellent weather.

Upon reflection, and looking over the blog it has been a truly great experience.  We have seen many wonderful sights, saw friends along the way, and met many wonderful new people.  It makes you appreciate this great country we live in.

Look for more postings in May 2016!